]]>The Trump administration is demanding that China remove all advanced missiles deployed on disputed islands in the South China Sea, the first time such a demand has been made public.

The call to take out the anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles was disclosed in a fact sheet from the State Department on Friday outlining the results of a strategic dialogue between senior U.S. and Chinese officials.

"The United States called on China to withdraw its missile systems from disputed features in the Spratly Islands, and reaffirmed that all countries should avoid addressing disputes through coercion or intimidation," the statement said.

]]>https://freebeacon.com/national-security/inside-ring-trump-demands-china-remove-missiles-south-china-sea/feed/0China Speeding Up Large-Scale Military Builduphttps://freebeacon.com/national-security/china-speeding-large-scale-military-buildup/
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/china-speeding-large-scale-military-buildup/#respondWed, 14 Nov 2018 20:00:55 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=1084117Beijing is sharply speeding up a large-scale buildup of military forces in preparation for a future conflict with the United States, according to the congressional commission report made public Wednesday.

]]>Beijing is sharply speeding up a large-scale buildup of military forces in preparation for a future conflict with the United States, according to the congressional commission report made public Wednesday.

"Today, the United States and its allies and partners are facing a China more capable and increasingly confident in its ability to use the military as a tool to intimidate countries throughout the Indo-Pacific and support the expansion of its global interests," says the annual report of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Two decades of modernization of forces by the People's Liberation Army, the Communist Party of China-led army, "has already resulted in a force capable of contesting U.S. operations in the region, presenting challenges to the U.S. military’s longstanding assumption of enjoying ground, air, maritime, and information dominance in a conflict in the post-Cold War era."

The 539-page annual report by the bipartisan commission was made public Wednesday and outlines a range of troubling Chinese activities and policies in addition to the military buildup, including large-scale cyber theft of American technology, increased arms sales to rogue states like Iran, and bullying of regional countries in Asia, including Taiwan.

The report warns that Chinese supreme leader Xi Jinping "significantly accelerated China’s military modernization goals in late 2017, requiring the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to become a fully ‘modern' military by 2035 and a ‘world-class' military by mid-century," the report said.

The new guidance from Xi directs the PLA to achieve these goals nearly 15 years sooner than previous military modernization goals.

Prior to reaching its military buildup goals, China also may resort to covert information and non-kinetic warfare to achieve its objectives.

The commission said the military buildup is part of Chinese efforts to take control over Asia and is increasing the danger of war.

"Prior to the PLA achieving its objectives of becoming a ‘modern' and ‘world-class' military, Beijing may use coercive tactics below the threshold of military conflict rather than resorting to a highly risky use of military force to achieve its goals in the region," the report said.

"However, as military modernization progresses and Beijing’s confidence in the PLA increases, the danger will grow that deterrence will fail and China will use force in support of its claims to regional hegemony."

The report warns that the buildup poses new dangers for the United States and its allies in Asia that are seeking to maintain the traditional democratic and free market order in the region against Beijing's communist expansionism.

Caroline Bartholomew, a China commission co-chairman, said the rapid buildup includes a streamlined command structure and improved Chinese military ability to contest U.S. military operations.

The commission has asked the U.S. intelligence community to produce a report on how China's Belt and Road Initiative will be used for military purposes, she said.

"China is pouring resources in cyber and space warfare weapons, artificial intelligence, long-range missiles, and other advanced weapons systems," Bartholomew said during a press conference on the release of the report.

"It is already outpacing the United States in some of these areas," she said.

"Our report clearly documents China's increasing campaign to influence countries around the world through both implied and real diplomatic, economic, and military threats," Bartholomew said.

The report said the arms buildup already has weakened the decades-long American military supremacy in the ground, air, maritime, and information domains within the second island chain—referring to China's strategy of projecting power further from its coasts through two island chains stretching from northeast Asia through southeast and as far east as Japan and Guam.

"By 2035, if not before, China will likely be able to contest U.S. operations throughout the entire Indo-Pacific region," the report said. "As China continues to achieve its military modernization goals, the PLA will become increasingly capable of contesting all domains of warfare throughout the Indo-Pacific region and beyond."

The Chinese strategy appears designed to contest the U.S. military by developing high-technology weapons, such as maneuvering missiles capable of targeting ships at sea, space weaponry, cyber warfare tools, and other advanced arms.

The report said large-scale Chinese investment in such weapons threatens a key U.S. military advantage.

"China's rapid development and fielding of advanced weapons systems would seriously erode historical U.S. advantages in networked, precision strike warfare during a potential Indo-Pacific conflict," the report said.

Another key development was China's recent creation of the Strategic Support Force, a military service-level branch that combines intelligence, information, cyber, space, and electronic warfare groups in one place.

"The new force signals Beijing’s intent to build a military capable of dominating these domains of warfare," the report said.

The rapid buildup of advanced naval forces also is a key feature of the buildup, with deployment of large numbers of highly capable warships.

The warships provide "naval expeditionary capabilities deployable around the globe as early as 2025, well ahead of the PLA's broader 2035 modernization goals," the report said.

Also, China has rapidly fielded numerous types of medium- and long-range missiles fired from aircraft, ships, submarines, and ground launchers. The missiles "substantially improve China's capability to strike both fixed and moving targets out to the second island chain," the report said.

"China’' ability to threaten U.S. air bases, aircraft carriers, and other surface ships presents serious strategic and operational challenges for the United States and its allies and partners throughout the Indo-Pacific," the report noted.

Another concern with the buildup is that China's military appears to be preparing for a conflict as a way to deal with the so-called "peace disease" and inability to conduct joint combat operations.

"Much of Chinese leaders' concerns center on the PLA's lack of recent combat experience and the perceived inability of many operational commanders to carry out basic command functions such as leading and directing troops in combat," the report said.

Xi has promoted a "strong military thought" ideology since 2017 that seeks to dispel the PLA's shortcomings in war preparedness and "combat mindset," the report said.

The military buildup is driven by Xi's promotion of a so-called "China Dream" that is based on China achieving global supremacy by displacing the United States as the world's sole superpower.

Through an economic program called the Belt and Road Initiative, China also is planning for future expeditionary warfare.

Retaking Taiwan and solidifying its hold over disputed maritime zones in the South China Sea and East China Sea are key military objectives for the Chinese.

The new commander of the Indo-Pacific Command, Adm. Philip Davidson, told Congress in April: "China is pursuing a long-term strategy to reduce U.S. access and influence in the [Indo-Pacific] region and become the clear regional hegemon, and Beijing has already made significant progress along this path. China is no longer a rising power but an arrived great power and peer competitor to the United States in the region."

Roy Kamphausen, a China commission member, said that China's doctrine for using nuclear arms in a future conflict is unclear.

"At the conventional level, the risk of escalation [during a regional conflict] though remains undiminished and trending higher," Kamphausen said.

China's handling of conflicts and their escalation differs from how the United States handles conflicts,

"So the risk remains high on the conventional side, even if the threat of crossing the nuclear threshold remains low," Kamphausen said.

]]>https://freebeacon.com/national-security/china-speeding-large-scale-military-buildup/feed/0China’s Communist Party Expands Control Under Xihttps://freebeacon.com/national-security/chinas-communist-party-expands-control-xi/
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/chinas-communist-party-expands-control-xi/#respondTue, 13 Nov 2018 10:00:57 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=1083385China's Communist Party under Xi Jinping is expanding control over the Chinese government while increasing the use of covert action influence operations, according to a forthcoming congressional report.

]]>China's Communist Party under Xi Jinping is expanding control over the Chinese government while increasing the use of covert action influence operations, according to a forthcoming congressional report.

The annual report of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission will reveal that communist control over China's 1.4 billion people has increased and notes the "Party-ification" of the Chinese government.

Xi also has expanded personal power by adding his brand of communism to the Chinese constitution—he is the first Chinese communist leader to do so by name—and through purging thousands of top military and civilian officials.

"In one of the most significant developments of 2018, the [Chinese Communist Party] solidified its control over policy in China through what it called the ‘deepen[ing] reform of party and state institutions,'" a late draft of the forthcoming annual report says.

The report is due to be made public in the next several weeks. A copy of the draft, dated Oct. 26, was obtained by the Washington Free Beacon under the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

"The increase in Party control over governmental functions coincided with the additional consolidation of President Xi's control over the Party."

Xi, in the clearest sign of growing dictatorial power, was reapproved as Party general security and abolished limits on the number of terms he can hold the supreme leadership post.

Few academics or officials outside China have discussed Xi's drive for absolute power in China under the system of Marxism-Leninism and socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The CCP also recently took control of a number of government agencies that were once part of the Chinese state. The takeover has weakened the government, the report said.

The shift means China's system is doing away with traditional governance and ruling through Party "leading small groups" and committees made up of Party leaders. The groups and committees have now institutionalized decision-making for the Party.

The Party control over China was on display last week in Washington. Instead of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi taking part in high-level U.S.-China diplomatic and military talks, Politburo member and State Councilor Yang Jiechi met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe also participated.

The expanded Party controls also have led to an increase in Chinese influence operations conducted through a Party organ known as the United Front Work Department.

"As the CCP has consolidated power over many aspects of Chinese society, President Xi has expanded the role of the United Front Work Department (UFWD), a powerful Party entity responsible for securing the political support of or otherwise co-opting non-CCP entities within China and among the Chinese diaspora in foreign countries, including the United States," the report said.

Xi elevated the department by declaring its covert and overt operations as important for the Party and to be used as a "magic weapon" in advancing Chinese strategic objectives.

As part of Communist Party efforts to increase control over ethnic minorities, religious groups, and overseas Chinese, the government State Administration for Religious Affairs, State Ethnic Affairs Commission, and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office were placed under the United Front Work Department.

In the past, those organizations were part of the State Council, the chief administration organ of the Chinese government.

The commission report noted that China affairs analysts Julia Bowie and David Gitter regard the Work Department control over State Administration for Religious Affairs as part of a plan for "sinicization" of religions in China. The goal is to "shape religious traditions and doctrine to better conform with Chinese society and CCP objectives," they said.

China is currently carrying out a major crackdown on unofficial religious groups and ethnic minorities.

Christian Pastor Bob Fu, head of the U.S.-based group ChinaAid, has revealed the crackdown includes the recent closing down or harassing of numerous unofficial house churches in China and the imprisoning of Christians.

In western Xinjiang Province, China has placed an estimated 1 million ethnic Uighurs into detention camps. The Uighurs, predominantly Muslim, have been targeted as a potential terrorist threat, by the Party.

The Communist Party also is expanding control over film production. The Central Committee Propaganda Department was recently given direct oversight of film making and copyrights.

The report said there has been "some prominent pushback" to the Party's expansion of power.

Xu Zhangrun, a law professor at Tsinghua University challenged the expansion in a published article in July as returning to the class-struggle politics of the Mao Zedong era.

Xu said the Chinese people are "both critical and fearful of the meaning of the revision of the [CCP] Constitution and the abandonment of term limits on political leaders."

"It is felt that this amounts to a negation of the last thirty years of the Reform and Open Door policy era," he stated. "It is feared that … China will be cast back to the terrifying days of [one-man rule under] Mao."

Xu said the creation of a new National Supervisory Commission, ostensibly to root out corruption, had caused China's people to feel a greater loss of legal rights and fears of "the advent of a form of KGB-style control … embroiled in the factional politics of the [CCP]."

As a result of the criticism, Xu was forced to return to China from Japan, where he was a visiting scholar.

The National Supervisory Commission was behind the unusual disappearance and detention in October during a visit to China of Meng Hongwei, president of the international police organization Interpol and a vice minister of public security.

The report said that Meng, who later resigned from Interpol, was a victim of China's new "liuzhi," or extrajudicial punishment policy created by the National Supervisory Commission.

The arrest "should cause the rest of the world to think harder about how to respond to China's … campaign to build legitimacy and influence among international organizations," Julian Ku, professor at Hofstra University School of Law said of Meng's disappearance and arrest.

The National Supervisory Commission power known as liuzhi, translated literally as "to set [someone] aside," replaces an earlier extralegal detention system called "shuanggui," or "double designation."

Under the old policy, Party officials had to report to a designated place and time to be detained an interrogated for alleged violations of discipline or for corruption.

"Unlike shuanggui, liuzhi can be used to detain all Party and government employees," the report said.

]]>https://freebeacon.com/national-security/chinas-communist-party-expands-control-xi/feed/0Inside the Ring: Election Interference Deterred?https://freebeacon.com/national-security/inside-ring-election-interference-deterred/
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/inside-ring-election-interference-deterred/#respondFri, 09 Nov 2018 14:15:49 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=1082482Threats by the Trump administration to retaliate for any foreign interference in the midterm elections appear to have deterred China and Russia from attempting to disrupt the voting or vote tallying Tuesday.

Threats by the Trump administration to retaliate for any foreign interference in the midterm elections appear to have deterred China and Russia from attempting to disrupt the voting or vote tallying Tuesday.

President Trump said he saw no information that either nation intervened in the election.

]]>Contradicting press reports, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has no plans to step down and leave the Trump administration following the midterm elections, his spokeswoman says.

"No. There is work to be done," Pentagon Press Secretary Dana White told the Washington Free Beacon when asked if Mattis plans to leave office at the halfway point in President Trump's first term. She did not elaborate.

Mattis is leading an effort within the Pentagon to reform the U.S. military with the goal of creating more lethal and agile forces.

The modernization includes a focus on high-technology weapons systems driven by artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, such as drones.

He is also managing policies and strategies related to the deployment of U.S. military forces battling terrorists around the world and directing the upgrading of American nuclear forces.

A combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mattis is one of Trump's most widely respected cabinet officials.

A former commander of the Central Command with wide experience in the Middle East, Mattis has extensive knowledge of military affairs and as defense secretary has rapidly shown new skills in the often difficult area of policy-making and politics that come with heading the Pentagon.

Trump was asked about staff and cabinet changes at a press conference Wednesday and noted that it is common for officials to depart administrations after two years. But he said he is was satisfied with his current group of top aides.

Hours after the comments, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced he was retiring at Trump's request.

Sessions had come under fire from Trump for recusing himself from the Justice Department probe into Russian collusion during the 2016 election.

The recusal left Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in charge of the Russia probe. Rosenstein called for creation of the ongoing special counsel investigation led by former FBI Director Robert Mueller after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey last year.

"I'll tell you, there will be changes. Nothing monumental from that standpoint," Trump said.

"I think what I'll do is as we make changes, we'll sit down and talk to you about it," he said. "I mean, there's no great secret, a lot of administrations make changes after midterms."

But then he added: "I will say that, for the most part, I'm very, very happy with this cabinet. We're doing a great job."

Asked if White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, like Mattis a retired Marine Corps general, will be leaving, Trump said, "People leave. I haven't heard about John Kelly."

"But, no, people leave. They come in, they're here, it's a very exhausting job—although I love doing it, I must tell you—but it's exhausting for a lot of people," he said. "I'm surprised at a lot of people. They start off, they're young people, they're there for two years, and they're old by the time they leave."

Trump said he has many people lined up for every single position in the White House.

"Everybody wants to work in this White House," he said. "We are a hot country. This is a hot White House. We are a White House that people want to work with."

Trump also said that he planned to keep Vice President Mike Pence on as his running mate for the 2020 presidential election.

Speculation Mattis could leave the administration was fueled by comments from Trump during an interview last month.

The president was asked if Mattis planned to step down and said "Well, I don't know. He hasn't told me that."

"I have a very good relationship with him. I had lunch with him two days ago. … It could be that he is. I think he's sort of a Democrat, if you want to know the truth. But Gen. Mattis is a good guy. We get along very well. He may leave. I mean, at some point, everybody leaves. Everybody. People leave. That's Washington."

The question was prompted in part by a report in the Washington Post by journalist Bob Woodward, author of a book on the Trump administration, who asserted that Mattis has made disparaging comments about Trump.

"While I generally enjoy reading fiction, this is a uniquely Washington brand of literature, and his anonymous sources do not lend credibility," he stated.

Mattis noted the policymaking is "inherently messy" and that he embraces debate and the open competition of ideas.

"In just over a year, these robust discussions and deliberations have yielded significant results, including the near annihilation of the ISIS caliphate, unprecedented burden sharing by our NATO allies, the repatriation of U.S. service member remains from North Korea, and the improved readiness of our armed forces," Mattis said.

"In serving in this administration, the idea that I would show contempt for the elected commander-in-chief, President Trump, or tolerate disrespect to the office of the president from within our Department of Defense, is a product of someone's rich imagination."

In remarks on defense policies at a think tank Oct. 30, Mattis identified Russia, Islamic terrorism, and China as the three most urgent priorities.

Mattis said he is opposed to overuse of the U.S. military as a tool of foreign policy, including against foreign terrorism because "you simply couldn't shoot your way out of this problem."

The defense secretary is grappling with the war in Afghanistan where U.S. military forces are trying to train an Afghan military to take over the security of the country in the face of the Islamist Taliban insurgency.

In Iraq, Mattis ordered a shift in strategy and tactics to oust Islamic State terrorists and in Syria, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have been doing most of the fighting against the Islamic State.

On Russia's violation of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Mattis said successive administrations have spent 10 years trying unsuccessfully to press Moscow to end its violation—the deployment of the SSC-8 ground-launched cruise missile that violates the accord.

"What does it do to us in terms of military terms? I don't want to go into too much detail, but there are options, both symmetric and asymmetric, that are available," Mattis said, adding that Trump would decide what measures to take in response.

]]>https://freebeacon.com/national-security/defense-secretary-mattis-stay-pentagon/feed/0Trump Honors Victims of Communismhttps://freebeacon.com/national-security/trump-honors-victims-communism/
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/trump-honors-victims-communism/#respondThu, 08 Nov 2018 10:00:48 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=1081861President Trump marked a national observance on Wednesday for the millions victims who died as a result of international communism.

]]>President Trump marked a national observance on Wednesday for the millions victims who died as a result of international communism.

"On the National Day for the Victims of Communism, we honor the memory of the more than 100 million people who have been killed and persecuted by communist totalitarian regimes," the president said in a White House statement. "We also reaffirm our steadfast support for those who strive for peace, prosperity, and freedom around the world."

Communism, or Marxism-Leninism, is a political ideology whose adherents first seized power during the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. Often referred to by the euphemism "scientific socialism," communism sought to reshape societies through collectivist systems that seek to change human nature through labor.

A main feature of communism is an implacable hostility to capitalism, the economic system that has produced the most advanced and freest civilization in human history.

Since then, "we have witnessed the effects of the tyrannical communist ideology—anguish, repression, and death," Trump said of the Bolshevik takeover.

States that adopt communist political systems are marked by violations of basic human rights. Resulting policies under communism have produced severe repression against any group or person perceived by ruling regimes to be an "enemy of the state."

China’s system has been noted as the deadliest communist state, producing a death toll estimated to be 65 million people through executions, forced labor, and other means, according to the authoritative Black Book of Communism, published in 1999.

China sought to reform its hardline communist system under Mao Zedong beginning in the 1980s by adopting quasi-capitalist features to its economy. Its political system, however, remains a repressive Leninist dictatorship.

According to the Black Book, more than 94 million people were killed or died as the result of communist regimes around the world, ranging from Russia to China to Cuba.

The victims included those who died in mass repression under communist systems through executions, government-produced famines, war, deportation, and forced labor.

Among the communist-inspired mass deaths have been the Soviet government-caused famine in Ukraine known as "Holodomor" that killed as many as 12 million people.

The Soviet purge known as the Great Terror from took place 1936 to 1938 when Stalin killed an estimated 700,000 land-owning peasants known as "kulaks" along with many political opponents.

Cambodia under the communist Khmer Rouge killed an estimated 2 million Cambodians.

Mr. Trump noted that many Germans in Berlin were shot crossing the Iron Curtain into Western Europe "as they tried to escape to freedom."

"The victims of these and many other atrocities bear silent testimony to the undeniable fact that communism, and the pursuit of it, will forever be destructive to the human spirit and to the prosperity of mankind," the president said.

"Today, we remember all who have been denied the great blessings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness under oppressive communist regimes," Trump said.

"Together, we mourn the unbearable losses so many have endured under communism, and we renew our pledge to continue advancing the cause of freedom and opportunity for all."

The presidential message comes as many appear unaware of the legacy of communism.

A Gallup poll made public in August found that for the first time in over a decade of polling, Democrats favored socialism over capitalism.

Millennials also have shown greater interest in socialism, according to recent polling data.

A report by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation released last month concluded Americans need better education about communism and socialism.

"The American public lacks a serious understanding and education regarding socialism and communism," the foundation said in releasing the report.

"Most people continue to woefully underestimate the death toll of communism. It follows that only half of Americans can identify Cuba as a communist country, not to mention that 41 percent of Americans do not consider North Korea communist."

"As Marx and other leading socialists have made clear, socialism denies the concept of individual rights, rejects transcendent truth, and favors a collective understanding of justice," said Marion Smith, the foundation’s executive director.

"This system also now has a past record of practice in places like the USSR, China, Cuba, North Korea, and now Venezuela, among dozens of others around the world since 1917. Marxist governments have caused enormous political, economic, and humanitarian catastrophes—some of which continue today."

Democratic socialists, those who seek to impose socialism through elections, also have gained popularity in recent years.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), a democratic socialist, gained popularity during his 2016 run for president, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 29-year-old Democratic socialist was elected to Congress on Tuesday.

President Ronald Reagan, a strong anti-communist, along with Pope John Paul II who supported the anti-communist revolution in Poland in the 1980s were instrumental in exposing the reality of communism.

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev also was a key reformer who helped bring down the Soviet Union that collapsed in December 1991.

However, anti-democratic Russian revanchists, including many Soviet-era security officials, rejected democratic reforms and led to a new non-communist dictatorship in Moscow under Russian President Vladimir Putin.

One of the most important voices in exposing the reality of communism was the late Russian writer and dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn, whose 1974 book The Gulag Archipelago revealed the horrors of the Soviet system of forced prison labor, a main tool used to rid the Soviet Union of its opponents.

]]>https://freebeacon.com/national-security/trump-honors-victims-communism/feed/0U.S. Set for Harsh Response to Foreign Election Meddlinghttps://freebeacon.com/national-security/u-s-set-harsh-response-foreign-election-meddling/
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/u-s-set-harsh-response-foreign-election-meddling/#respondTue, 06 Nov 2018 10:00:24 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=1080301The U.S. government has prepared harsh responses to any nations or groups that seek to disrupt the midterm elections this week, according to a senior National Security Council official who recently left the White House.

]]>The U.S. government has prepared harsh responses to any nations or groups that seek to disrupt the midterm elections this week, according to a senior National Security Council official who recently left the White House.

Fred Fleitz, the chief of staff for the NSC until last week, also said the United States may not extend the New START arms treaty with Russia over concerns Moscow is not complying with the 2010 strategic arms accord.

On potential meddling by China and Russia in the midterm elections that end Tuesday night, Fleitz, a former CIA analyst, said the NSC held hours of meetings to discuss threats and responses.

"Our enemies have been trying to meddle in our elections for many years. It didn't just happen in 2016," Fleitz said in an interview with the Washington Free Beacon.

"I know that there are very, very sound and serious policies to stop any meddling in the 2018 election, and to hold any parties that do that accountable," said Fleitz, who will soon take over as president of the conservative Center for Security Policy, a Washington think tank.

Fleitz, as chief of staff and executive director of the NSC, had access to some of the nations most intimate secrets and also helped coordinate key national security policy. He took part in internal White House meetings on the threat posed by foreign targeting of the midterm elections.

Press reports, he said, about the administration's planning and policies were "extremely distorted" in failing to recognize the large amount of time senior officials devoted to "making sure this doesn't happen again."

"My hope is there won't be any meddling," he said. "But if there is, I think there are going to be dire consequences for the nations and parties that do that."

Asked whether U.S. government agencies are preparing to conduct counter cyber attacks against foreign states that seek to disrupt voting or vote tallying, Fleitz declined to elaborate.

"I can simply say it is a very substantial policy," he said. "Many, many hours were spent putting it together."

Under new authorities authorized by the president, the U.S. intelligence community and Pentagon are prepared to conduct counter-hacking attacks on Russia or China if election interference is detected. Doing so would be one of the first uses of American offensive cyber attack capabilities.

The Fort Meade-based Cyber Command and the National Security Agency are the government's two main cyber attack centers.

No details of plans for counter cyber attacks have been disclosed. They likely would involve conducting intrusions into bank accounts and information systems of foreign actors linked to election meddling operations. The goal could be to sabotage cyber attack infrastructures or funding sources.

An NSC spokeswoman did not comment on what plans are in place for countering foreign election meddling.

Trump administration security officials said in a briefing on election security last week that elections will be held in about 10,000 local districts nationwide.

"Every single one of those has a range of authorities and emergency plans that are in place already to be able to deal with a range of emergencies that happen," a senior National Security Council official said.

President Trump in September signed an executive order on election security that directs the imposition of sanctions against states caught engaging in election interference.

The Department of Homeland Security is monitoring election infrastructure while the FBI and CIA are conducting intelligence gathering related to foreign election interference.

The interference can range from influence operations, such as advertising and lobbying to affect voting, as well as the use of social media to sow division and planting stories in English language media. Seeding disinformation about political candidates and disseminating foreign propaganda are other foreign influence tools.

Separately, technical interference through cyber and other electronic means is also a concern.

That interference could include actions taken against the electoral systems and processes. Potential activities could target the infrastructure used to register voters, generate ballots, record votes, tally votes, and to certify votes that are then delivered to authorities. It could also include seeking to interfere with approval or disapproval of ballot measure or referendum.

"That has to be met with swift and severe action, which is why the president has put that executive order in place to make sure that we bring to bear all capabilities of the federal government to react, number one, warn off our foreign adversaries; and number two, react swiftly and strongly in the case that we do see that level of interference," the official said.

The administration has set up a special unit to monitor election processes from the White House. DHS, the FBI, and U.S. intelligence agencies will be monitoring the election Tuesday and for days after.

"The FBI is concerned about ongoing interference campaigns by Russia, China, and other foreign actors, including Iran, to undermine confidence in democratic institutions and influence public sentiment and government policies," a senior intelligence official told reporters last week.

"These activities also may influence voter perceptions and decision-making in the 2018 and 2020 U.S. elections."

"Foreign interference in U.S. elections is a threat to our democracy, and, as such, identifying and preventing this interference is a top priority for the FBI and federal government," the official added.

Vice President Mike Pence last month outlined Chinese election interference as a covert and overt effort by Beijing to unseat the president.

Pence said China is engaged in an unprecedented bid to influence voters, such as those farm states hit by U.S. trade measures against China.

Beijing is targeting American public opinion, the 2018 election, and the environment leading up to the presidential election in 2020. China "wants a different American president," Pence said.

Based on the high profile Russian meddling in the 2016 election, security officials are monitoring Russian intelligence and influence activities closely for signs of any new and different tactics in Moscow's interference activities.

So far, no Russian technical operations have been detected targeting election infrastructure. Some efforts to use social media such as Facebook and Twitter have been spotted.

On arms control, Fleitz said the president will decide in the future whether or not to extend the 2010 New START arms treaty. The treaty expires in February 2021.

Fleitz suggested Russia has not complied with New START. The treaty limits the United States and Russia to 1,550 deployed warheads.

Russia is engaged in a significant strategic nuclear forces buildup that includes several new missiles, including some that may not be compliant under New START.

"There is going to have to be a serious evaluation of the New START treaty—whether it is in American interests [and] whether Russia is complying with that treaty and then we'll see if it will be extended," Fleitz said.

Fleitz praised Trump's announcement that the United States would jettison the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty based on Russian violations.

The INF Treaty was a good treaty for its day negotiated during the Cold War under President Ronald Reagan, he said.

"The problem is even the Obama administration had to acknowledge that the Russians were violating it but didn't do anything about it," Fleitz said.

"This is a priority for Ambassador Bolton that these treaties like this have to be fair and have to bind everyone, not just the United States."

Russia violated the treaty by developing a ground-launched cruise missile with INF range and has deployed significant numbers of the SSC-8 missile.

"Now with Russia cheating, and with significant missile programs, not just by China but by Iran and North Korea, this treaty just didn't make any sense," he said. "If there is going to be an INF treaty it has to be a global INF treaty and for me this was just a no brainer."

On other issues, Fleitz said Trump is taking on China's unfair trade practices and theft of American intellectual property in ways no previous president has done.

"For years the United States has tolerated huge trade imbalances with the Chinese, the theft of intellectual property," Fleitz said.

"The president has taken a different approach—he's just not going to go along with it. We haven't had a president prepared to confront the Chinese, maybe take on some short term economic pain to our country to make it clear that this behavior is unacceptable."

Fleitz said he believes the pressure on Beijing is making a difference. "They see a president who is basically undeterred in his effort to press the Chinese for free and fair and balanced trade," he said.

China's leaders are "dragging their feet as much as they can" in giving in to Trump's demands, Fleitz said, and that is leading the president to increasing the pressure.

"I think that's the way it is going to keep going, that the pressure will continue until China's behavior changes," he said, noting that developing better trade ties is a significant priority for the president and his administration.

Fleitz said he is optimistic on negotiations with North Korea to denuclearize but that the process will be difficult.

"The North Koreans are balking and they're threatening they're going to pull out if they don't get what they want. That's just the way the North Koreans negotiate," he said.

Fleitz also voiced concerns about the so-called snap-back sanctions that went into effect on Monday.

"Iran is one reason the president chose John Bolton to be national security adviser because he had the Bolton plan to get out of the Iran deal," he said.

Bolton believes the Iran deal negotiated under President Barack Obama was a "fraudulent deal that couldn't be fixed."

The new strategy is to pursue a new deal by re-implementing sanctions that were lifted under Obama.

"This is good," Fleitz said. "What concerns me and what concerns some conservative experts is that there are exceptions to these sanctions. Some countries will be allowed to buy oil from Iran, supposedly temporarily. I'm a little worried about that."

Fleitz said if the president wants to maintain pressure on Iran "that means no exemptions."

Those officials in the administration who are part of what Fleitz termed the Washington "swamp" have argued that granting the exemptions to the sanctions will be temporary.

"Giving exemptions to these sanctions I don't think is consistent with the president's policy and it is my hope that these exemptions will be canceled very quickly," Fleitz said.

Fleitz said it was a privilege working for Trump, Bolton, and the NSC.

"I'm always astounded at how Ambassador Bolton absorbs huge amounts of intelligence every morning and feeds it back to the president throughout the day and in various meetings," he said.

]]>https://freebeacon.com/national-security/u-s-set-harsh-response-foreign-election-meddling/feed/0China Reveals Plans for ‘Phantom’ Underwater Drone War Against U.S.https://freebeacon.com/national-security/china-reveals-plans-phantom-underwater-drone-war-u-s/
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/china-reveals-plans-phantom-underwater-drone-war-u-s/#respondFri, 02 Nov 2018 18:15:15 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=1079122China's military is preparing to wage autonomous underwater warfare against the United States, including the use of drone submarine attacks on American aircraft carriers, according to the official Chinese military newspaper.

]]>China's military is preparing to wage autonomous underwater warfare against the United States, including the use of drone submarine attacks on American aircraft carriers, according to the official Chinese military newspaper.

"Underwater offensive and defense operations constitute a major battle domain for the seizure of sea supremacy, and represent a major means of winning superiority in maritime operations," the newspaper of the People's Liberation Army stated in an Oct. 25 report.

The report said China envisions future unmanned underwater vehicles conducting stealthy autonomous attacks and relying on networks of sensors planted around the world in the sea floor that can be triggered by satellites.

Autonomous underwater warfare capabilities are part of the Chinese military's decades-long arms buildup of forces capable of defeating the United States.

The PLA report provides a rare glimpse into Chinese military thinking for deterrence and future underwater warfare.

Smart submarines operating and attacking on their own, and new high-tech underwater weapons are the "new frontier mainly for laying ambushes with underwater robots, smart ‘phantom' weapons, and bionic fish-like devices to shape a network-based operations system."

Underwater attacks will be carried out using AI-powered robot submarines that operate "without relying on human control" to assess targets automatically, and organize coordinated attacks in what the military report calls "underwater phantom warfare."

"Before a crisis evolves into a war, the ‘phantom' weapons may be deployed ahead of time in a way of deep submerging below the sea surface or deep lurking on the seafloor beneath a strategic sea channel, or a sea strait that the adversary's vessels will certainly pass through, one may activate such weapons via the space-based or sea-based low-frequency signal system to shape a pre-deployed underwater operations system with the capability of self-determined smart attacks," the report said.

AI underwater drones also can be used to impose a self-activated blockade of fixed targets based on the weapons' automatic target identification capabilities.

The drone submarines also will employ unbreakable coded communications and data transmission sent by advanced quantum computers.

The Chinese envision the use of a complex "neural network" of self-thinking weapons with the power of "cerebral cognition" by massive processing of underwater acoustic signals and images.

"Such a weapon system is able to automatically divide and gather a cluster of actors linked to the underwater smart communications network, and is also able to perform unmanned, self-determined, self-coordinated underwater operations to deliver precision strikes and destroy the main opponent's carrier battle group or other surface ship formation," the report said.

The carrier attacks will be conducted while the drone weapons communications are cut off from the external world.

For targeting, the Chinese will rely on networks of underwater sensors to provide targeting data, such as floating and underwater buoys, bionic fish-like devices, and underwater gliders capable of gathering target signatures.

Robot weapons and mines also will be planted on the sea floor or buried beneath it, and will be supported by underwater power charging pillars and energy tanks that will use non-contact wireless energy storage, power charging, and information relay capabilities.

As part of its future underwater warfare operations, the Chinese have begun gathering massive amounts of data on the electronic signatures of surface ships and submarines that will be used in a database for smart unmanned underwater attack weapons.

Thus China, which was disinvited from this year's large-scale U.S.-led naval exercise in the Pacific, dispatched an intelligence-gathering vessel to monitor the war games.

The AI submarine drones will be self-controlled with "the capability of thinking" and that will be able to "back off from its original decisions."

The system will employ algorithms similar to those used in the AlphaGo deep learning program that was the first to defeat a human in the chess-like Asian game of Go.

"Such a system implements a deep learning method similar to that of AlphaGo, so it can perform the native function of cognitive control, can activate pre-deployed underwater weapons, and exercise tactical control of unmanned underwater combat systems or robots according to the needs of a mission," the PLA report said.

The system will also "choose the best smart attack program according to the marine acoustic environment at the moment, and perform underwater ‘phantom warfare' without supervision, without communication, and through self-driving maneuvers."

The drone underwater warfare systems will be capable of operating over wide areas to "unfold underwater ambush operations, and can even impose surrender behavior control and exercise strong psychological deterrence through the smart underwater network control system."

Another use for the autonomous drone warfare will be staging underwater attacks or deterrence operations that will involve triggering preliminary explosions of underwater weapons with the goal of forcing an enemy to give up resistance based on "psychological weaknesses of the opponent in war."

Those weaknesses would be formulated by the intelligent weapons based on intelligence and large sets of data collected in advance.

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported in July that China is developing large, smart unmanned submarines capable of roaming the world's oceans for missions ranging from reconnaissance to strikes on enemy vessels. The drone submarines also could place underwater mines.

The report said China expects to deploy its unmanned underwater vehicle weapons by the early 2020s.

The robot submarines will not be equipped with nuclear weapons but can be targeted against U.S. forces in strategic waters like the South China Sea and the western Pacific, according to Chinese researchers quoted by the newspaper.

The drone submarines will be large enough to carry missiles and surveillance equipment and will have power sources that will enable long-range operations for months at a time.

The report quoted Lin Yang, marine technology equipment director at China's Shenyang Institute of Automation, as confirming work on a series of extra-large unmanned underwater vehicles, or XLUUVs.

Lin said the Chinese drone submarine program is aimed at countering similar U.S. XLUUV development programs.

Russia recently unveiled its large nuclear-tipped underwater drone submarine the Pentagon has called Kanyon and Moscow calls Status-6.

Luo Yuesheng, professor at China's College of Automation in Harbin Engineering University, said drone submarines equipped with artificial intelligence would learn from sinking other AI-powered vessels and adjust accordingly.

Luo said China's work on AI drone submarines is in an early stage and is facing technical hurdles.

"AI will not replace humans. The situation under water can get quite sophisticated. I don't think a robot can understand or handle all the challenges," Luo said.

Last September, Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Forces dispatched a submarine to naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea.

The Japan Defense Ministry said the exercises in early September included three warships and one diesel-electric attack submarine.

The out-of-area Japanese exercises were widely regarded as a strategic message to China, which claims to own 90 percent of the South China Sea.

The United Nations court has ruled the Chinese maritime claim is illegal.

]]>https://freebeacon.com/national-security/china-reveals-plans-phantom-underwater-drone-war-u-s/feed/0U.S. Launches Crackdown on Chinese Economic Espionagehttps://freebeacon.com/national-security/u-s-launches-crackdown-chinese-economic-espionage/
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/u-s-launches-crackdown-chinese-economic-espionage/#respondFri, 02 Nov 2018 09:00:00 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=1078885Amid unfulfilled Chinese government promises not to spy on U.S. companies, Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday announced a major initiative to counter multi-billion dollar theft of American technology from Chinese economic espionage.

"Chinese economic espionage against the United States has been increasing—and it has been increasing rapidly," Sessions said. "We are here today to say: enough is enough. We’re not going to take it anymore. It is unacceptable."

]]>Amid unfulfilled Chinese government promises not to spy on U.S. companies, Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday announced a major initiative to counter multi-billion dollar theft of American technology from Chinese economic espionage.

"Chinese economic espionage against the United States has been increasing—and it has been increasing rapidly," Sessions said. "We are here today to say: enough is enough. We’re not going to take it anymore. It is unacceptable."

Sessions noted that in 2015, China stated publicly it would not target American companies for economic gain.

"Obviously, that commitment has not been kept. Just ask GE Aviation, or Trimble, of Sunnyvale, California," he noted.

As part of the crackdown, the Justice Department announced the indictment for the first time of a state-run Chinese company involved in a plot to steal advanced U.S. semiconductor technology.

A federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted Chinese and Taiwanese company and three people for targeting the Idaho-based Micron Technologies, which is leading in development of an advanced semiconductor technology called DRAM–dynamic random-access memory.

The semiconductor technology is a major component of advanced computing that will be central to developing artificial intelligence products for both commercial and military applications.

The Justice program is part of a multi-pronged Trump administration policy of taking action against China for unfair trade practices and technology theft.

The administration has imposed $200 billion in tariffs on Chinese products and is holding out an additional $250 billion in tariffs.

Trump said on Twitter Thursday that he spoke by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping and discussed many topics "with a heavy emphasis on trade."

"Those discussions are moving along nicely with meetings being scheduled at the G-20 in Argentina," Trump said referring to a likely meeting with Xi Jinping later this month.

Sessions, referring to "the communist regime in China which is notorious around the world for intellectual property theft," said Beijing's technology acquisition efforts against American firms too often have been successful and are the main targets of the counter-espionage program.

On Tuesday, the Justice Department announced the indictment of two Chinese intelligence officers and five hackers for conducting cyber attacks on American aerospace companies.

That indictment followed the unprecedented arrest earlier this year of a Chinese Ministry of State Security officer for economic cyber spying.

"We will not allow our sovereignty to be disrespected, our intellectual property to be stolen, or our people to be robbed of their hard-earned prosperity," he said.

"Discoveries that took years of work and millions of dollars in investment here in the United States can be stolen by computer hackers or carried out the door by an employee in a matter of minutes," he said. "This theft is not just wrong; it poses a grave threat to our national security. And it is unlawful."

Sessions noted that the China threat has been overshadowed in the press by threats from Russia and terrorism but has grown "more dangerous."

He noted that from 2013 to 2016 the Justice Department did not charge a single person with spying for China.

But since 2017, three people have been charged with spying for China or attempting to spy for China. Five other cases are currently being prosecuted for theft or attempted technology theft by China's government.

On the Micron case, Sessions said the company is worth an estimated $100 billion and controls up to 25 percent of the DRAM industry and noted China did not have DRAM technology until very recently.

A former Micron executive went to work for the Taiwan company charged in the indictment and orchestrated the theft of Micron trade secrets valued at $8.75 billion.

The Taiwan company then formed a partnership with the Chinese state-owned company "so that ultimately China could steal this technology from the United States and then use it to compete against us in the market," Sessions said.

The indictment identified the Chinese company as the Taiwan semiconductor manufacturer United Microelectronics Corporation, and the Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit, Co., Ltd, the state-owned company.

Three Taiwanese nationals also were indicted: Chen Zhengkun, He Jianting, and Wang Yungming.

Jinhua is funded by the Chinese government and was created in February 2016 for the purpose of designing, developing, and manufacturing DRAM, the Justice Department said.

The indictment charged that the Chinese operation involved the downloading of over 900 Micron confidential and proprietary files that were stolen.

The Justice China Initiative is headed by the department's national security chief, Assistant Attorney General John Demers and will be made up of a senior FBI official and five U.S. attorneys and other senior officials.

The program will identify priority Chinese trade theft cases and see that they have enough people and funds and that they get high-level support.

Additionally, the initiative will expand national security reviews of Chinese investments and purchases in the United States and foreign agents' registration.

The foreign agents' effort will be to "counter covert efforts to influence our leaders and the general public," Sessions said.

"Today, we see Chinese espionage not just taking place against traditional targets like our defense and intelligence agencies, but against targets like research labs and universities, and we see Chinese propaganda disseminated on our campuses, he said.

The attorney general said the problems posed by the Chinese government must be solved. "These threats must be ended," he said.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said China poses the most significant threat to the United States.

"No country presents a broader, more severe threat to our ideas, our innovation, and our economic security than China," said Wray.

"The Chinese government is determined to acquire American technology, and they’re willing use a variety of means to do that–from foreign investments, corporate acquisitions, and cyber intrusions to obtaining the services of current or former company employees to get inside information," Wray added.

"We are committed to continuing to work closely with our federal, state, local, and private sector partners to counter this threat from China."

The Justice Department also filed a civil lawsuit that seeks to enjoin the transfer of stolen trade secrets in the case and to prevent the defendants from transferring information stolen in the case.

The indictment was filed Sept. 27 and unsealed Thursday, when the civil case was filed.

]]>https://freebeacon.com/national-security/u-s-launches-crackdown-chinese-economic-espionage/feed/0Inside the Ring: State Official on China Tech Thefthttps://freebeacon.com/national-security/inside-ring-state-official-china-tech-theft/
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/inside-ring-state-official-china-tech-theft/#respondThu, 01 Nov 2018 17:21:55 +0000https://freebeacon.com/?p=1078666The State Department is stepping up efforts to block China from acquiring American technology in a large-scale, high-technology military buildup.

]]>The State Department is stepping up efforts to block China from acquiring American technology in a large-scale, high-technology military buildup.

Christopher Ford, assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, said the efforts are aimed at countering Beijing’s strategy of "military-civilian fusion" being directed by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The fusion process moves technology acquired abroad ostensibly for civilian purposes to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Mr. Ford said in a speech to the U.S. Naval Academy last week.

Mr. Ford said his bureau at the State Department has joined with Los Alamos National Laboratory since July in a program aimed at "putting up barriers to the proliferation of sensitive technologies to the People’s Republic of China — technologies which Beijing has been using to build up its military capabilities in support of its ambitious ‘China Dream’ of ‘national rejuvenation’ to regain China’s position as a world leader in a range of fields, including military might."